Everton watched Martinez last summer – why he is such a gamble

Everton were believed to be interested in signing Atlanta United forward Josef Martinez this summer, according to reports.

The Venezuela international striker has torn up the MLS in recent seasons, and has subsequently attracted a lot of interest across Europe.

Martinez’s 86 goals in 95 games for the Five Stripes has seen him pick up three pieces of silverware for Atlanta since 2018, with the 2018 MLS Cup the pick of the bunch.

Having played alongside Newcastle United man Miguel Almiron in the United States, the Chronicle report that the Magpies want to reunite the attacking duo at St James’ Park, while they also claim Everton hold significant interest in Martinez.

According to the report, Everton took a “good hard look” at the 26-year old over the course of the summer, but whether they decided to make contact is unclear.

With goals hard to come by on Merseyside at the moment, maybe Everton could look to reignite interest in Martinez once the transfer window reopens. But would he be the right man for the Toffees?

Read Everton Verdict

The main concern for me and for most Everton fans I’m assuming is the pedigree that a player can bring coming from the MLS. It is fair to say that the overall quality of the MLS is subpar compared to the Premier League, and it is always a gamble signing a player from that league because you don’t know whether they can translate their ability across.

That being said, with a goalscoring record like Martinez’s, you’d expect him to make some sort of impact in England at least. It all comes down to a price tag, and whether or not Atlanta can be reasonable in their demands.

Almiron cost Newcastle £21million, which is a lot for a player from the MLS, and Martinez would need to be around the same or lower. If he costs much more then any deal would be a non-starter, in my view, and I think that is a more likely scenario.

It remains to be seen how interested Everton are going forward and whether they’d even consider him after signing Moise Kean, but a goalscoring record like his does make you wonder what he could do on Merseyside.